Breaking the invisibility of LGBTQI+ people in Benin
"For me, the UPR is a non-binding global justice mechanism that allows the most marginalized voices to be heard at the highest level."
— Ulrich Ricken Bidossessi SOUROU .
While living in northern Benin, Ulrich Sourou saw friends and members of the LGBTQI+ community suffer discrimination and violence around him. Far from discouraging him, these experiences spurred him to action. Today, as president of Hirondelle Club Benin, he works tirelessly for the recognition, protection, and equality of LGBTQI+ people, drawing on international tools such as the United Nations Universal Periodic Review (UPR) mechanism.
Ulrich joined Hirondelle Club Benin to raise awareness about sexual and gender diversity and human rights, while showing civil society organizations (CSOs) how to use the UPR to effectively defend the rights of LGBTQI+ people.
For many years, LGBTQI+ people in Benin lived in a climate of institutional invisibility: no specific laws recognized or protected their rights; violence, discrimination, and arbitrary arrests were often ignored; conservative social, religious, and cultural norms reinforced exclusion and marginalization; dialogue with public authorities was virtually non-existent; even judicial remedies were frequently discriminatory.
During the 2017 UPR cycle, no recommendations concerned the safety or recognition of the rights of LGBTQI+ people. However, during the 4th UPR cycle in 2023, Benin received thirteen recommendations and officially accepted two recommendations specific to the protection of the rights of LGBTQI+ people, made by South Africa and the United Kingdom (136.46 and 136.255).
In April 2023, Benin's Constitutional Court issued decision DCC 23-138 condemning the arbitrary arrest and detention of an LGBTQI+ person. According to Ulrich this decision marks a historic step forward: it deals with a case of violence and discrimination and sends a strong signal—police officers can now be held accountable for discrimination.
This success was made possible thanks to the documentation work carried out by Hirondelle Club Benin, which protected the victim throughout the proceedings and mobilized its allies to obtain justice. The decision came two months after the 4th cycle of the UPR in January 2023, to which Hirondelle Club Benin had submitted an alternative report detailing precisely this type of violation.
In collaboration with four other LGBTQI+ organizations, Hirondelle Club Benin drafted and presented this alternative report, which highlighted rights violations and the reality on the ground. Initially, the state had accepted only one recommendation; a major social media campaign led by Hirondelle Club secured acceptance of the second. By using social media and public engagement, Ulrich and his organization helped raise awareness of these recommendations and increase both public and institutional pressure for their implementation.
"One of the most important things we have learned is that impact often comes from strategic collaboration. Working in coalition, sharing resources, helping each other build capacity, and coordinating our efforts at the national and international levels are critical to advancing human rights." — Ulrich
Hirondelle Club also created a monitoring tool to track which UPR recommendations concerning the rights of LGBTQI+ people had been accepted or noted by the Beninese state. This tool was presented to the European Union's diplomatic missions in Benin, helping to increase the visibility of LGBTQI+ issues and open a strategic dialogue on the follow-up and implementation of these recommendations.
Hirondelle Club Benin participated in several initiatives organized by UPR Info, via Changement Social Benin, including preparatory sessions for the drafting of the alternative report and pre-sessions of the UPR. These activities were essential in strengthening our capacity to monitor the UPR mechanism. They enabled us to gain an in-depth understanding of how it works, to learn how to structure a solid, evidence-based report, to formulate indicators and recommendations, and to identify the key actors to target in our advocacy.
Despite these advances, LGBTQI+ organizations in Benin continue to face great difficulties in obtaining legal recognition from the competent authorities. This lack of recognition prevents them from officially existing, receiving funding, entering into partnerships, and freely carrying out their advocacy, awareness-raising, and community support activities.
This represents the next step in advocacy for Ulrich and Hirondelle Club: ensuring that LGBTQI+ organizations can freely register as such without fear of repression. Success in this fight would provide additional protection for community members and pave the way for the eventual adoption of a specific legal instrument guaranteeing the rights and safety of LGBTQI+ people.